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A Justice Department lawyer refused to answer any detailed questions about the deportation flights to El Salvador, arguing that President Trump had broad authority to remove immigrants from the United States with little to no due process under an obscure wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The tense back-and-forth in court between the judge, James E. Boasberg, and the Justice Department lawyer, Abhishek Kambli, left open the possibility of further conflict down the road. Judge Boasberg directed Mr. Kambli to certify in writing by noon on Tuesday — under seal if needed — that no immigrants were removed after his written order went into effect, a piece of information that will be crucial as the judge seeks to determine whether the Trump administration flouted his authority.

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As the hearing in Washington began, Judge Boasberg said he did not intend to rule on the merits on whether the Trump administration was correct in its decision to deport the immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act. Ultimately, the judge will have to decide whether the administration was right in removing people under the statute, which allows the government wide discretion to summarily deport noncitizens during wartime and if there is an invasion of U.S. territory.

For now, Judge Boasberg was concerned with a narrower issue: He wanted to figure out the timeline of the flights to El Salvador to determine whether they were in violation of his ruling.

But Mr. Kambli repeatedly refused to say anything about the flights, citing “national security.” He simply reiterated the government’s position that it had done nothing to violate Judge Boasberg’s order.

Even before the hearing began, Justice Department officials tried to have it canceled, writing to Judge Boasberg in the late afternoon to tell him there was no point in coming to court since they did not intend to provide him with any additional information about the deportation flights.

In an even more astonishing move, the department sent a letter to the federal appeals court sitting over Judge Boasberg, asking it to remove him from the proceedings entirely by citing what it described as his “highly unusual and improper procedures” in handling the case.

Archived at https://archive.is/1fq4M

Related BBC article with a helpful timeline

• 17:25 EDT: A first flight believed to be carrying deportees leaves Texas, according to data from tracking site Flightradar24. Take off happens while a hearing held by Judge Boasberg is paused. Earlier that afternoon, the White House said Trump was invoking the Alien Enemies Act
• 17:44 EDT: A second flight believed to be carrying deportees leaves Texas, according to Flightradar24
• 18:05 EDT: Boasberg's hearing resumes
• 18:46 EDT: During the hearing, Boasberg verbally orders the government to turn around the two planes if they are carrying non-citizens, saying: "any plane containing these folks - because it's going to take off or it's in the air - needs to be returned to the United States... This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately."
• 19:26 EDT: Boasberg issues his written ruling which includes a temporary restraining order on any further flights
• 19:36 EDT: A third flight believed to be carrying deportees leaves Texas, according to Flightradar24

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250318024104/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrdp9jdpyko